


Hold My Hand While Jumping the River

by vev_gesheh



Category: Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: AND PURE, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Big Gay Love Story, Childhood Friends, Children, Crush, Crush at First Sight, Crushes, Fantasy, First Crush, Gay Character, Homosexuality, Love, M/M, Male Homosexuality, Relationship(s), Secret Crush, Sexuality, Wholesome, childhood crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 21:16:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16542398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vev_gesheh/pseuds/vev_gesheh
Summary: Seven year old Kaladin sneaks off into the forest during his school’s excursion, unaware of the fact that true love soon will strike him - or at least a first childhood’s crush.





	Hold My Hand While Jumping the River

**Author's Note:**

> a pure little story i'll hopefully continue writing on hahah

Kaladin tried his absolute best not to yawn. Although he had rarely been this bored before, he did not want to be rude to the teacher, who - with handwritten flashcards - thoroughly explained the difference between an oak and a birch. Kaladin already knew the difference. It was not the hardest of task. Staying focused was. Standing in a neat line with the rest of the class, listening to the most basic of facts, Kaladin felt the most burning desire to leave. His legs were twitching, eager to run away as fast as he could. The older kids got to roam free around the forest at lunch hour, he thought. So why could not his small class get a break soon? He allowed his glance wander from the teacher, to the greenery on his left. The forest stood tall and lush, the wind flowing through the chunky trees' thin branches and winsome leaves. Oaks, they were. Not birches. Kaladin was standing at the back of the line, shorter than most of the other kids. If he was really fast, he thought, and really quiet and really stealthy, no one would notice if he left.

Although, he pondered, that would mean the loss of his position in line, and this day, Kaladin had quite a high status position. At the very back, sure, but in front of him stood Shallan Davar, and he had never before had such luck as being obligated to stand so close to her. Maybe in the cafeteria once, but never before for such a long time. Kaladin had been staring at her auburn-red hair, neatly flowing down her back, for the majority of the walk to the forest. She was, of course, yet to turn around and look back at him, but that was not much of an issue. Maybe it was even prefered, Kaladin thought. He felt perfectly content with solitary shying longing looks at her hair. In all honesty, it wasn't the most exciting activity, but it was expected of the boy walking behind Shallan Davar. On the way home from school, the boys would all gather at the back of the school bus, talking about her beautiful freckles, her blue eyes, and her intelligent comments; a conversation that frequently left Kaladin feeling left out. He did not have as much material as the other boys, and often thought of his valiant contributions to the discussion as weak. He did, quite frankly, not think much of the appearance or words of Shallan, even though he supposed he was in love with her. Every boy - even a girl or two - was, and therefore, he most certainly had to be. He simply had to work on his observation skills, and so, he tried.

“This way!” hollered the teacher, and the line of children started to move. Shallan had not moved her head from the teacher for a second, but now that the line started moving, she gracefully lowered her head, and started walking. She seems confident, thought Kaladin, and felt confident himself that a remark like that would be greatly appreciated by the boys at the back of the bus.

In the corner of his eye, something seemed to move deep in the forest, and Kaladin quickly shifted his stare from Shallans hair. Could this be some form of forest troll? He had been searching for one for years. When he was younger, his mother had often read to him from his father's old medicine book, and when Kaladin started to become restless of hearing about different kinds of herbs and trees - oaks and birches, for example - she had bashed the covers together, and started telling the most exhilarating stories about the troll societies deep inside the forest, where these magical herbs were growing.

Suddenly, Kaladin realised he was alone. He could not quite recall when he had stopped walking, or when his classmates had left his sight, but now he stood alone on the narrow dirt path. Forest surrounded him from all directions, and apart from a few children’s laughs and screams further down the path, the world lay quiet around him. Kaladin looked down on his dirty sneakers. Tried to listen most carefully. Did the teacher call for him? Had they even noticed that he was gone yet? It did not seem that way. The laughter slowly faded out, and Kaladin instead started noticing birds chirping from above. From somewhere, he could hear the murmurs of a stream. He knew, from his mother, that streams were the most ideal place for a forest troll society.

There was no doubting anymore. He set of into the forest.


End file.
